Rashmi Shukla IPS: Biography, Wiki, Age, Husband, Family, Batch, Education & Salary

Rashmi Shukla IPS is a 1988 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Maharashtra cadre. Shukla was appointed as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra in October 2023, replacing Hemant Nagrale, who retired on October 31.

She is currently posted as the Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), a paramilitary force under the Ministry of Home Affairs. She is known for her work for the safety and betterment of women in the state and her involvement in several controversies related to phone tapping and corruption allegations.

Age, & Birthday

Rashmi Shukla IPS was born on Sunday, 15 August 1965 (age: 59 years; as of 2023) in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Qualifications

Shukla completed her schooling at St. Xavier’s High School in Mumbai. She then graduated from Elphinstone College, Mumbai with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Mumbai. Shukla cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 1988 and joined the IPS. She was allotted the Maharashtra cadre.

Joining IPS & Posting

Rashmi Shukla joined the IPS in 1988 and was allotted to the Maharashtra cadre. She has served in various positions in Maharashtra police such as the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Aurangabad Rural, Nashik Rural, Satara, and Pune Rural districts, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Zone 1 and Zone 5 in Mumbai, the Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) of South Region in Mumbai, the Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) of Crime Branch in Mumbai, the Commissioner of Police (CP) of Nagpur and Pune cities, and the Commissioner of State Intelligence Department (SID).

Rashmi Shukla IPS has also served on central deputation as the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Delhi and Hyderabad, the Inspector General (IG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Additional Director General (ADG) of CRPF in Hyderabad.

She has received several awards and honors for her meritorious and distinguished service, such as:

• The DGP’s Insignia in 2004
• The President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2005
• The Appreciation Awards for Outstanding Performance during the November 2008 Terror Attacks in Mumbai
• The President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2013
• The FICCI Smart Policing Award for Women’s Safety in 2017
• The SKOCH Award for Cyber Safety Initiative in 2018

She has also initiated several innovative projects and schemes for the welfare and empowerment of women, such as:

• The Buddy Cop system assigns a police officer to a group of college girls to provide them with safety tips and assistance
• The Bhojanamrita scheme, which provides nutritious food to pregnant women and lactating mothers in rural areas
• The Damini Squad, which consists of women police officers who patrol public places to prevent eve-teasing and harassment
• The Nirbhaya Squad, which consists of women commandos who are trained to deal with violent situations
• The Pink Toilet Project, which provides clean and hygienic toilets for women in public places

IPS Rashmi Shukla: From phone tapping scandal to top cop post

Rashmi Shukla IPS, a 1988-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been appointed as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Maharashtra, the state where she was once accused of illegally tapping the phones of political leaders. How did she overcome the controversy and rise to the highest rank in the state police? Here is a timeline of the events that led to her appointment.

The phone-tapping allegations

In March 2021, when Rashmi Shukla IPS was the head of the State Intelligence Department (SID) in Maharashtra, she submitted a report to then-Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, alleging that some politicians were influencing the transfers and postings of police officers in exchange for money. She claimed that she had intercepted the phone conversations of these politicians and their associates as evidence.

However, after the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress came to power in November 2019, Shukla was transferred to a non-executive post of Civil Defence. The MVA government also accused her of tapping the phones of its leaders, including Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, NCP’s Eknath Khadse, and Congress’s Nana Patole, without any legal authorization.

In April 2021, two FIRs were registered against Shukla in Mumbai and Pune under the Indian Telegraph Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for illegal phone tapping and leaking confidential information. A team from the Mumbai Police also went to Hyderabad, where she was posted as Additional Director General (ADG) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), to record her statement. She then approached the Bombay High Court to quash the FIRs and seek protection from arrest.

The court verdict

In September 2021, the Bombay High Court quashed both the FIRs against Shukla and granted her interim relief from any coercive action by the state police. Court observed that there was no prima facie evidence to show that Shukla had tapped any phones illegally or leaked any information to anyone.

The court further said that Shukla had acted in good faith and in the public interest by exposing the alleged corruption in police transfers and postings. The court also criticized the state government for initiating a “witch-hunt” against her and trying to tarnish her reputation.

The DGP appointment

After the Bombay High Court verdict, Shukla became eligible for promotion to the rank of DGP in Maharashtra. She was among the three senior-most IPS officers in the state cadre who were considered for the post. The other two were Sanjay Pandey and Hemant Nagrale, both 1987-batch officers.

However, Pandey had opted out of the race after he was accused of sexual harassment by a woman IPS officer. Nagrale, who was serving as the Mumbai Police Commissioner, was also facing allegations of mishandling the Antilia bomb scare case and the Anil Deshmukh extortion case.

Rashmi Shukla IPS Wiki, BIO

Marriage, Husband & Kids

Rashmi Shukla IPS is a widow. Her husband, Uday Shukla, was also an IPS officer and was posted as RPF Chief Security Commissioner-cum-IG with the Western Railways in Mumbai till 2018. He passed away in 2018 after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 58 years old and was suffering from cancer. Rashmi Shukla has two children, a son and a daughter.

Her son, Abhinav Shukla, is an IAS officer of the 2016 batch and is currently posted as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Dharwad in Karnataka. Her daughter, Aditi Shukla, is a lawyer and is pursuing her LLM from Harvard Law School in the USA.

Height, Weight & Body Stats

• Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
• Weight (approx.): 65 kg
• Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper
• Eye Colour: Black